Condo Window "Fun Solar" Project - What's your advice?

[NYCsolar]

Hi - I am wanting to experiment with solar energy and put a panel in my condo window. My purpose is to power some nighttime bedside lamps and a reading lamp. Nothing serious, mainly fun...edutainment!

I've selected the Renogy 30 watt monocrystalline panel ( https://www.renogy.com/30-watt-12-volt-monocrystalline-solar-panel-new-edition/ ) primarily because it fits within the window mullions.

Will get the Renogy CTRL-WNDPG10 Wanderer charge controller and their Bluetooth module so I can monitor it. ( https://www.renogy.com/wanderer-10a-pwm-charge-controller/ )

Was wondering about where to store the energy from the solar panel? Looking mostly for quality and ease of energy use, I thought the Jackery 160 power station was good ( https://www.jackery.com/products/explorer-160-portable-power-station ).

Would love advice / thoughts / experience / ideas from more experienced folks on my proposed setup...

THANKS!

 

[NYCsolar]

I might also add to my original post, would polycrystalline be better for NYC weather?

 

[Deleted member 1888]

If it is inside you will not get much power from it however if it is out sid it will work. Just watch this vid for our solar Queen.

 

[NYCsolar]

Good video - thanks for sharing. So it seems I will have a loss of 2/3 of potential power just by having the panel inside. May need to scale back my ambitions.

 

[dmholmes]

Not sure about the results but I've seen a couple of people do it.

• Renewable Apartment - How I installed a Solar Panel in my bedroom window
• solar panel windows home condominum 2016

 

[NYCsolar]

Not sure about the results but I've seen a couple of people do it.

• Renewable Apartment - How I installed a Solar Panel in my bedroom window
• solar panel windows home condominum 2016

Thanks for the links . . . The 2nd video was new to me--gave me hope about the effectiveness of the panels through glass. Just fun to tinker with it!

 

[JoeHam]

Good video - thanks for sharing. So it seems I will have a loss of 2/3 of potential power just by having the panel inside. May need to scale back my ambitions.

I think nighttime led lamps are a very reasonable ambition.

More DIY would be to dump the Jackery, add a LiFePO4 battery, some LED lights and you are in business.

I have one of these for $50:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X7MD2JK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It’s little brother is $30.

 

[NYCsolar]

I think nighttime led lamps are a very reasonable ambition.

More DIY would be to dump the Jackery, add a LiFePO4 battery, some LED lights and you are in business.

I have one of these for $50:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X7MD2JK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It’s little brother is $30.

Thanks for the suggestion - So do you trust the LiFePO4 battery for indoor use? I guess I'm not familiar with it, so would love to hear how you use this battery.

I just ordered my 30w panel by Rich Solar and the Renogy Controller with bluetooth dongle, because I have to know what's going on when I'm one room away! Should be here on Sunday or Monday!

 

[JoeHam]

The safest battery chemistry I am aware of.

I have been living indoors with my multiple LiFePO4 batteries for over 5 years.

 

[Forbisher]

Thanks for the suggestion - So do you trust the LiFePO4 battery for indoor use? I guess I'm not familiar with it, so would love to hear how you use this battery.

I just ordered my 30w panel by Rich Solar and the Renogy Controller with bluetooth dongle, because I have to know what's going on when I'm one room away! Should be here on Sunday or Monday!

You do not need a controller if you are using a Jackery as there is a built in controller.
Jackery actually uses the dangerous Li ion type batteries and not the safe LFP batteries but they are well protected with a bms and other voltage protections.
Indoors in the same temp as you is the best place for LFP batteries.

 

[NYCsolar]

The safest battery chemistry I am aware of.

I have been living indoors with my multiple LiFePO4 batteries for over 5 years.

I read up on it -- now I'm a believer!

 

[svetz]

Good video - thanks for sharing. So it seems I will have a loss of 2/3 of potential power just by having the panel inside. May need to scale back my ambitions.

Can you mount a small frame outside your window to hold the panel?

 

[NYCsolar]

Can you mount a small frame outside your window to hold the panel?

Unfortunately the condo rules don't allow attachment of anything to the window system which, as a part of the building's enclosure, is owned by the association. It's OK by me as I want the exterior to stay looking good for property values. So I'm just tinkering with solar for fun and "edutainment."

 

[NYCsolar]

Am researching the fuses required for my setup.

I'm going to be using the Renogy 10A solar charge controller; in their instructions they recommend a "battery to controller" fuse equal to the controller's amp rating, in this case, 10 amps.

1. If I get a Jackery battery (or other portable power station) do I need a fuse?
2. If I get a LiFePO4 battery (no power station) I assume a fuse is required, so shouldn't the fuse be sized according to the battery's ampHour rating?

Appreciate the forum's on-going wisdom!
--Kevin

 

[JoeHam]

Actually fuses or breakers protect your wires, not your devices.

With properly sized wire I think you would be fine with one of these:

2P 250V Low-voltage DC Miniature Circuit Breaker For Solar Panels Grid System Din Rail Mount 16A - - Amazon.com

2P 250V Low-voltage DC Miniature Circuit Breaker For Solar Panels Grid System Din Rail Mount 16A - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

I won’t even answer any Jackery questions as I blatantly try to steer you to the DIY method. ?

The education alone is worth it!

 

[NCblueridge]

Am researching the fuses required for my setup.

I'm going to be using the Renogy 10A solar charge controller; in their instructions they recommend a "battery to controller" fuse equal to the controller's amp rating, in this case, 10 amps.

1. If I get a Jackery battery (or other portable power station) do I need a fuse?
2. If I get a LiFePO4 battery (no power station) I assume a fuse is required, so shouldn't the fuse be sized according to the battery's ampHour rating?

Appreciate the forum's on-going wisdom!
--Kevin

You are talking about a small panel, inside your condo by a window, correct?

 

[NYCsolar]

You are talking about a small panel, inside your condo by a window, correct?

Yes, that's right - I ordered a 30w Rich Solar panel as it fits in the window nicely.

 

[NYCsolar]

Actually fuses or breakers protect your wires, not your devices.

With properly sized wire I think you would be fine with one of these:

2P 250V Low-voltage DC Miniature Circuit Breaker For Solar Panels Grid System Din Rail Mount 16A - - Amazon.com

2P 250V Low-voltage DC Miniature Circuit Breaker For Solar Panels Grid System Din Rail Mount 16A - - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

I won’t even answer any Jackery questions as I blatantly try to steer you to the DIY method. ?

The education alone is worth it!

That might be overkill for my purposes as the one panel is only 30w! But I will look into DC circuit breakers -- thanks!

 

[Forbisher]

I'm going to be using the Renogy 10A solar charge controller; in their instructions they recommend a "battery to controller" fuse equal to the controller's amp rating, in this case, 10 amps.

1. If I get a Jackery battery (or other portable power station) do I need a fuse

Once again If you get a Jackery you do not use that Renogy charge controller as the Jackery already has one.
You won't need a fuse so just plug the panel in.
You are gonna be lucky to get 10 watts out of that 30 watt panel through the window.
60 or 100 watt panel would be recommended.

 

[NYCsolar]

Once again If you get a Jackery you do not use that Renogy charge controller as the Jackery already has one.
You won't need a fuse so just plug the panel in.
You are gonna be lucky to get 10 watts out of that 30 watt panel through the window.
60 or 100 watt panel would be recommended.

Sorry, I didn't see your earlier reply, with great info! It's good to know the Jackery has a built-in charge controller--thanks much!

I do expect the results to be 1/3 as I watched a video recommended by @PsychoticEpisode above and understand the reduction in effectiveness through the glass. I thought I'd start small and see if it will even work.

Do you think the Westinghouse iGen160s Portable Power Station 155Wh is essentially the same as the Jackery 160?

 

[dmholmes]

Do you think the Westinghouse iGen160s Portable Power Station 155Wh is essentially the same as the Jackery 160?

I have the Jackery 160, they are quite similar feature-wise. More output ports on the Westinghouse. The Jackery display has better charging indicator. Looks like the Westinghouse only indicates that is is charging, and then full.

 

[NYCsolar]

Thank you for the info. I went ahead and ordered the Jackery. Now I have to research how to get the raw cables from the panel into their 8mm pin input.

 

[dmholmes]

Thank you for the info. I went ahead and ordered the Jackery. Now I have to research how to get the raw cables from the panel into their 8mm pin input.

I use this.

 

[NYCsolar]

I use this.

Do you know if the Jackery DC input is male or female? It's hard to tell from the photos... Based on the link you sent I assume the Jackery receives an 8mm male into its 8mm female port. Just want to confirm before I order...

THANKS!

 

[dmholmes]

Based on the link you sent I assume the Jackery receives an 8mm male into its 8mm female port.

Correct